Illusion

Introduction

The guards, decked in heavy fire-protective gear, kept a strong grip on the girl in between them. Two on her sides and two in front and behind her. Definitely intense for one prisoner, or more so, one fragile looking girl. Ahead of the guards, she observed, was an older-than-middle-aged man decked in a high-end suit with dark, yet greying hair leading the group further and further down into the building. She tried to map out the route they had been taking her one, but everything was built the same and it soon gave her a headache.

The girl was clad in a white sports bra of sorts, white shorts, white leather gloves that were tied at her wrists and of course, heavy-duty handcuffs. Her auburn hair was askewed in every-which-way and, although it had look as though she had taken a shower, there were still spots of grime and dirt around her neck and arms. She huffed quietly as the guards continued to shove her down the seemingly endless hallways.

The deeper they got the more she realized that she was being lead into a prison. An impeccably clean prison that clearly had never been used, but still the undeniable cages to her right gave her horrific memories. About halfway down the empty line of cells, the guards stopped in front of one. The best way to describe it was a metal cube with windows. The floor and back panel looked to be cold metal where the remaining three sides looked like glass. 'Easy enough to break out of,' she thought.

Although it seemed to be random, the guards forcefully shoved her into a cell that was surrounded by more guards and cameras. When she was in the center of the cell, one heavy guard removed her cuffs and seemed to almost run from the cell, locking her in. With a quick glance around, the girl saw a large metal slab that slid out of the wall, several cameras surrounding the walls of the cell, two large guards at the entrance, and visibly no way out. However, she was taught "no" wasn't an answer so she kept searching.

Suddenly a dark haired man approached the front of the cell. The girl took note of all of his features. "Hello," he spoke in a husky voice. "My name is Tony Stark." The girl knew who he was. "You hungry?" She didn't answer. "Alright well you're funeral. I won't be back for awhile." She walked closer to the cell wall. "Do you know where you are?" The girl had a familiar rush of anxiety flow through her. "Okay do you know who you are?"

This time she answered. "Illyuziya." (That's Illusion in Russian. She'll be referred by that a lot)

Tony Stark shook his head. "No." The color in her face left instantly. "What's your name?" She didn't understand the question. She shook her head. "Your name is Anezka Nikolaev."

The girl's head began pounding and the room was spinning. "Stop it."

"You were born April 17th, 1929."

"Stop it," she said a little louder clutching her forehead.

"HYDRA kidnapped you seventy years ago and tortured you into believing you were 'the Illusion.'"

"STOP IT NOW," she screamed, clenching her fists. Suddenly her cell was filled with flames and Tony could barely seem her through them.

When the flames cleared, Anezka was sitting on the floor curled up into ball and sweating profusely. "Holy shit..." Tony mumbled. "You're in an Avengers building in the lower levels. We've never had to use these cells, but Fury recommended we include them. Good thing too. Like I said I'll be back in a few hours with some food. You'll want to eat. You're not getting out anytime soon."

Anezka heard his footsteps get softer and softer, but it wasn't until they completely disappeared that she stood up. She let out a piercing scream filled the cell with fire again and then collapsed on the ground.

———-

"Stark!" Tony only just got upstairs before he was ambushed by a pissed off Bucky Barnes. "How dare you bring her here and not tell me!"

"Since when did I answer to you, Barnes?" Tony snapped at him.

"I know her Stark! I've been in her exact situation! I know what she needs!" Bucky shouted, Steve holding him back.

"This isn't a therapy session Barnes. I'm making sure she doesn't burn down any more orphanages," Tony said sighed and walking towards the kitchen.

"Okay but you aren't going to help her by forcing her to talk about things she's been taught for years to forget." Bucky shrugged off Steve and walked after Tony. "Please, Stark. Just let me talk to her."

Tony groaned. "Fine. If you'll leave me alone. I'm still going to conduct my lab work but fine. Go talk to her."

"Thank you Tony," Bucky said genuinely.